Start Using ‘Async’ To Get ‘In Sync’ With Your Customers

Then digital, real-time communication became possible through online chat.

But it’s time to say “bye bye bye” to these channels. There’s a better way of having conversations that are in sync.

We have entered the era of messaging: four billion people use apps like iMessage and Whatsapp for digital communication every day. We use Slack to message with colleagues, and WeChat to talk with peers abroad…and we use these messaging channels because they are convenient: they do not require both parties to be available in order to have an ongoing conversation.

We have evolved to communicate asynchronously, where we can message back and forth at leisure. Urgent conversations can take place in real time, but non-urgent conversations can take place over longer stretches of time as both parties are able to respond whenever they have availability.

This preference for asynchronous or ‘async’ communication is an important attribute of consumer behavior that brands should pay attention to — as it is already something that consumers understand and appreciate.

Async messaging also just so happens to be a much easier and far more cost effective channel for customer service.

That’s because, at a very basic level, messaging as a channel that is enabled for asynchronous communication doesn’t require the same workforce as a channel that is set up for real time chat. If your customers don’t expect your team to respond immediately, your team doesn’t need to be staffed to respond immediately.

Messaging is also the perfect container for new AI and bot-based tools on the market today. When augmented by automation, messaging as a channel can benefit from massive increases in efficiency — and we get into all that and more in our latest guide: Get In Sync With Your Customers: A Primer to Asynchronous Communication And How It Benefits Customer Service